Public Awareness and Participation

3.11.2Programmes

312. 
     Publications for environmental activities are the basic element but plays as the most important tool to disseminate information about environmental issues, particularly for environmental education programmes. Publications provide basic knowledge of mercury properties, mercury toxicology, the adverse effects to human health and the environment, issues on mercury waste and mercury exposure way from mercury waste as well as how to deal with and dispose of mercury waste. It is crucial that publications are translated into the various languages and dialects to ensure information is efficiently communicated to the target population.
     
313. 
     Environmental education programme is to develop a public that is aware of and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones (UNESCO 1977). Environmental education programmes can enhance critical thinking, problem solving, effective decision-making skills how to segregate mercury waste and enable individuals to think about environmental issues with regard to mercury waste. The components of environmental educations on mercury waste are as follows (Honda 2005):
     

• 
  Awareness and sensitivity to the environment and environmental challenges;
  
• 
  Knowledge and understanding of the environment and environmental challenges;
  
• 
  Attitudes of concern for the environment and a motivation to improve or maintain environmental quality;
  
• 
  Skills to identify and help resolve environmental challenges; and
  
• 
  Participation in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental challenges.
  

314. 
     Environmental education increases public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues or problems. In doing so, it provides the public with the necessary skills to make informed decisions and take responsible action. Environmental education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action. Rather, environmental education teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an issue through critical thinking and it enhances their own problem-solving and decision-making skills (Honda 2005).
     
315. 
     Activities of public participations into mercury waste management should be implemented after environmental education programmes (after disseminating information about mercury waste). It is recommended that a demonstration programme of mercury waste be first implemented in a limited area before implementing large scale of activities. The activities of public participations into mercury waste management are a take-bake-programme and mercury-free product campaigns.
     
316. 
     Risk communication is a tool for creating that understanding, closing the gap between lay people and experts, and helping people make more informed and healthier choices. However, there are instances where this could be properly applied, as in the case of developed countries, while it may be inappropriate or inapplicable in cases of developing countries. The value of communicating dangers posed by mercury is to avoid misunderstanding about environmental issues, it is important to provide information about safe and risk levels of mercury exposure in general living environment as well as accidental mercury exposure, particularly to populations at-risk.
     

3.11.3Identification of Players on Programmes of Public Participation

317. 
     The partners for programmes on public participation are summarized as follows (Honda 2005):
     

1. 
   Officials and staff in governments who work for environmental issues;
   
2. 
   People who are interested in environmental problems and have high potential to understand quickly and disseminate to others:
   
   • 
     Children and students at schools, undergraduate students at universities;
     
   • 
     Teachers of primary and middle schools, sometimes the University professors;
     
   • 
     Women at local communities and groups; and
     
   • 
     Retired persons with a suitable education.
     
3. 
   People who work at environmental fields of local and community level:
   
   • 
     Non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
     
   • 
     Small and medium enterprises;
     
   • 
     Local producers, collectors and recyclers, the disposal facility owners of mercury waste.
     
4. 
   People who used to live at polluted sites:
   
   • 
     Local organizations;
     
   • 
     City residents;
     
   • 
     Enterprises.
     

3.11.4Type II Initiative

318. 
     In order to effectively implement programmes on public participation into ESM of mercury waste, it is important to collaborate among all stakeholders, such as governmental sectors, private sectors (producers of mercury-containing products), local communities, and consumers, namely a public-private partnership programme. Type II Initiative is the concept of “Local Capacity-Building and Training for Sustainable Urbanization: Public-Private Partnership”, namely the collaboration among all sectors to tackle common environmental issues. The type II Initiative is one of the most important concepts for ESM of mercury waste (Honda 2005; UNITAR 2006).
     
319. 
     Type II Initiative is one of the most attractive tools being used to help address the urban environmental crisis and is an effective tool to implement ESM of mercury waste. In addition, Type II Initiative helps governments and private sectors craft the approach that best fits their local needs for ESM of mercury waste. The model to develop a Type II Initiative is summarized in Table 3 -19. As an example, the contents of the Type II initiative are as follows (Honda 2005):
     

Preamble: Mercury waste and mercury-containing products may cause adverse effects to human health and the environment. In order to implement ESM of mercury waste and mercury-containing products, we all agree:

• 
  Producers shall plan to phase out use of mercury to manufacture products or limit mercury use as much as possible if mercury-free alternatives are not available, and participate in or support a recycling programme on used mercury-containing products;
  
• 
  Recyclers shall deal with used mercury-containing products and recycle those products as much as possible, and store or stabilize mercury collected from used mercury-containing products on the environmentally sound technologies if recycling is not available;
  
• 
  Collectors and transporters shall ensure a safety transportation of mercury waste and used-mercury containing products;
  
• 
  Users shall appropriately segregate and dispose of mercury-containing products;
  
• 
  Governments shall make a plan to phase out mercury-containing products in markets and promote producers to manufacture mercury-free alternatives and users to use those alternatives;
  
• 
  All stakeholders shall take initiative on a take-back programme of mercury-containing products;
  
• 
  Governments shall fully enforce environmental law and enhance the national capacity of mercury waste; and
  
• 
  Public sectors shall supervise and manage all activities of dischargers and dealers of mercury waste.
  

Table 3 19 Model to develop a public-private partnership for mercury waste (Honda 2005)

Stage 1: Development of master plan and strategic plan
Contents	Model
Identification of the current problems on mercury waste; Decision of target and goal; Master plan: the basic objective to set up a mercury waste management by municipality or central government. Its basic concept is “ESM” of mercury waste; Strategic plan: Materialization of the master plan to identify progress, stakeholders, donors, etc., in detail; The elements and aspects on mercury waste are as follows: Elements: generation, separation, separate collection, transfer/transportation, reusing/recycling, reduction, treatment/disposal; Aspects: technology, technique, knowledge, the environmental aspect, human health, financial mechanism, resource mobilization, legal framework.	There is legal framework of solid waste management, but no legal framework of mercury waste despite the current problem on mercury waste; A public-private partnership aims to introduce and implement an ESM for mercury waste; Master plan: Development of a mercury waste management mechanism by public-private partnership on ESM. The responsibilities of each sector are as follows: Public sector: all legal/political matters, such as legal framework, resource mobilizations, financial mechanism, supervision; Private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs): all technical matters, such as separate collection, infrastructure, reusing/recycling, final disposal, operation of infrastructure: community level activities, such as environmental education, demonstration of separate collection, dissemination of knowledge; Citizens: separate collection, tax payment; Media: PR activities on the environment. Implementation of separate collection; Licensing mechanism for collectors, transporters, recyclers and disposers; Regular assessment or reporting system by authorities concerned. Strategic plan Political strategic plan Step 1: Preparation of a national legal framework appropriate for a national capacity, taking into account the international standard; Step 2: Demonstration programme and synchronisation with technical matter; Step 3: Public comments; Step 4: PR activities to disseminate a legal framework, including environmental education programme; Step 5: Full enforcement. Technical strategic plan Step 1: Identification how a national technology lags compared to BAT; Step 2: Research and development and/or technology transfer; Step 3: Demonstration programme and synchronisation with political matter; Step 4: Improvement and/or update of technology and construction of facility with other technical matters such as collection system; Step 5: Full implementation. Overall strategic plan synchronised with the political and technical plans: Short-term strategic plan (1-2 years) which indicates one aim every 1-2 years; Long-term strategic plan (5-10 years) which mentions one aim every 5-10 years.
Stage 2: Identification of stakeholders and organisation of stakeholder framework
Contents	Model
Identification of stakeholders aimed at public-private partnership. Actors on mercury waste are as follows: Central government; Local government; Agencies; Private sector; Research sector (universities, institutes, etc.); Local players; NGOs/CBOs; Media; Donor agencies (IGOs, MFOs, etc.); National/city level bilateral cooperation with another country. Mobilising stakeholders; Establishment of a steering committee among stakeholders; Type II Initiative.	Stakeholders can decide based on the responsibility under the master plan and strategic plan as follows: Central government responsible for the environmental legal framework; Local government responsible for the environmental legal framework at local level, such as municipalities responsible for ordinances, city hall responsible for regulations; Agencies responsible for mercury waste or mercury-containing products; Private sectors regarding mercury waste management, such as producers manufacturing mercury-containing products, smelting facilities, recyclers, collectors, transporters, dealers, venture business which has great potential to become a key player, etc.; Research sectors which technically and politically research and develop a mercury waste mechanism on ESM or have the cooperation programme with another foreign research sector; Local players who are key person but not fully supervised/controlled by the legal framework, such as scavengers, local collectors, dealer of micro-level trading of mercury waste, etc.; NGOs/CBOs who implement the environmental activities, educational programme and voluntary contribution; Media responsible for PR activities and environmental education programme, such as TV stations, radio stations, publishers, newspapers, etc.; Donor agencies which can support financial matters, such as official development assistance (ODA), project funding by IGOs and MFOs. In addition, private sectors could also be recognised as one of the donor agencies based on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); Partners on the national/city level bilateral cooperation with another country, which can provide technology, techniques and knowledge of the environmentally sound management for mercury waste. Mobilising stakeholders: Identification of focal person in each stakeholder; Establishment of a focal channel to exchange information among stakeholders, such as a mailing list and website restricted to stakeholders; Basic information mobilisation among stakeholders to understand each other; Organisation of pre-committee meeting which invites not only focal persons but also their college or project teams. Organisation of a steering committee: Regular organisations, for example once in 2, 3 or 4 months in 1st implementing year. Type II Initiative Organising preliminary discussions with all stakeholders who may sign Type II Initiative; Deciding on stakeholders to sign Type II Initiative; Negotiating roles, responsibilities and contributions with the stakeholders; Preparing a draft Type II Initiative; Discussing the draft Type II Initiative among stakeholders; Finalising the content of Type II Initiative; Signing the Type II Initiative.

4Bibliography

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1 This entry does not include scrap assemblies from electric power generation.

2Further guidance on Basel Convention regulatory frameworks can be found in the following documents: Model National Legislation on the Management of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes as well as on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes and their Disposal (UNEP, 1995), Basel Convention: Manual for Implementation (UNEP, 1995b) and Basel Convention: Guide to the Control System (UNEP, 1998). Parties to the Stockholm Convention should also consult Guidance for developing a NIP for the Stockholm Convention (Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention (2005).

3 ^{Use of disposable thermometers increases waste volume while it can avoid cross-infection.}

4 ^{Information about amount of mercury contained in products can be found in a BAT/BEP guidance on reduction of mercury releases from waste management to be prepared under the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership – Mercury Waste Management Partnership Area.}

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